By Ahmad Hathout
Bell has filed a petition to cabinet asking for it to rescind a decision by the CRTC that mandated, on an interim basis, access to its last mile fibre facilities on an aggregated basis.
The CRTC mandated in November that Bell and Telus provide access in Ontario and Quebec to their last mile fibre network within a six-month period under the aggregated regime, which allows competitors to bundle the telcos’ traffic transport mile. The decision is interim until the CRTC makes a final decision on that regime at the conclusion of its wholesale internet review.
Bell, which is already challenging the order before the Federal Court of Appeal, said in the February 2 petition that the decision undermines the government’s policy objectives of bridging connectivity gaps because it has effectively forced it to reduce its fibre investments by over $1 billion, including a minimum of $500 to $600 million this year.
The telco also said the decision will impact subsidized projects, delaying them and shifting “even more of the cost burden onto taxpayers.”
It said the decision also impacts its network suppliers, including Telebon, Mobia, and Sentrex, whom Bell said have “seen material reductions in business from Bell as a result of the Decision.” That impact, Bell said, further affects the “available capital, jobs, and spending of those companies.”
Because the interim regime is limited to the two provinces, it disproportionately affects Bell versus Telus, which has some facilities in Quebec but its home court is out west. Bell has argued that the ability of a competitor to get bundled access to its network makes it very easy for the third party to immediately begin selling services over its facilities – a stark contrast to the existing, but what the CRTC said is an inadequate, disaggregated regime, in which the competitor must lease the traffic mile separately.
“The CRTC’s decision hurts consumers,” Bell said in a separate statement. “When Bell invests in a community, customers benefit from better service, more value, state-of-the-art reliable connectivity and competitive prices. By contrast, resellers make little to no investment in network infrastructure.”
If the Governor in Council elects not to rescind the decision, Bell is asking that it at least send it back to the CRTC with a direction to force all incumbent carriers with last mile fibre facilities to provide access, expand the mandate to the entire country, and to prohibit the incumbents from accessing the regime within or outside of its own territories, citing Videotron’s large market share on retail internet in Quebec.
“The CRTC must prioritize policies that support continued network investment or risk Canada falling behind in the digital economy,” Bell added in the statement.
Screenshot of Bell CEO Mirko Bibic.
